Revised and corrected version – use this one.

(NOTE – spelling for Mellia is INCORRECT.) The correct spelling is Mellen – correction made

NAMES FOR CUTLINE FOR PRINT SENT DOWN EARLIER:
REPAIRING A SLEEPING BEAUTY: This 1973 Mercury Comet was restored by automotive technology students at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in Paris. From left, are Brad Flagg, Danielle Jasud, Tanya Grant, Angela Holden, Andrew Hunt, Autumn Everett, Derek Lavoie, Dylan Conlon, Mellen Sawyer, Alan Doughty and Ryan Preston. Everett, Lavoie and Sawyer were responsible for the project.
Students restore antique Comet
PARIS – Paris auto body students were given the rare opportunity to restore an antique vehicle recently.

It was a win-win for the students and the owner of the powder blue 1973 Mercury Comet, Mary Seilonen of Waterford. Her husband, John, said the car, a four-door straight block, six cylinder 250 Comet, had been dormant for 15 years.

The car was new when Mary Seilonen bought it for a little more than $2,000 while working as a cashier in Middletown, Conn.

No doubt it’s worth a great deal more than that, especially considering that the Comet roared to life again in February. To get it going, the engine was removed, the transmission, hoses, lines were all taken off and all components were cleaned, repaired and replaced, if necessary.

The work in Mitch Green’s class went to students Derek Lavoie of Buckfield, Mellen Sawyer of Buckfield and Autumn Everett of Oxford. The curriculum difficulty is like that of any other college course and the grade counts at the high school as well as at Central Maine Community College in Auburn.

Replacement of some of the parts proved to be a challenge because finding working parts is a time-consuming task. John Seilonen said he helped search out the parts for the students.

The students, through the engine rebuilding class at Oxford Hills Technical School in Paris, are required to remove, rebuild and replace at least one engine and examine all of its components.

Although Everett said the engine “purred like a kitten” after the final engine assembly, more hard work needed to be done.

New brakes were installed, new fluids were added, and a thorough inspection beneath the hood was completed.

The Seilonens brought food and cake for the entire automotive technology class in appreciation of their efforts before taking the car home.

The auto technology class works on cars from teachers and donated vehicles, but never has had the chance to work on an antique car, defined as over 25 years old.

“Memories from this will live on in the minds of the students, because only once in a lifetime is a high school kid able to make a sitting classic run again,” Everett said.